Erin Has Fond Memories of the Office Vending Machines

I know I’m not alone, but does anyone miss having a vending machine at work? If you still have one, consider yourself lucky. 

When I started at WBKR/WOMI in 2009, imagine my wonder to find a Coke machine and a conventional vending machine in our kitchen. It was full of goodies, candy bars, chips, and snack cakes. I made sure I had dollar bills and/or a lot of quarters on hand in case I needed something. 

I'm always reminded of Jim's vending machine prank on Dwight on The Office and how fun it would have been to try it, including the bag of nickels to redeem all the office supplies.

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Fast forward to ten or so years ago, and these goodies, pop, and bottled water were taken away to make room for what looks and feels like a regular kitchen minus a stovetop oven or a dishwasher. We, ahem, are supposed to wash our used dishes. I won’t name names, but I kid. I'll be honest, it's a smaller kitchen and two huge vending machines were aesthetically overwhelming. We also fast-forwarded to more non-candy bar or salty snack options being available in our pantry and having a water cooler for refills, which serves as a reminder to stay hydrated. I wish I was a bigger fan of water; it's just not the same as a carbonated drink.

The selfie of me holding a delicious candy bar popped up in my Facebook memories this week, and it brought back visualizing those two behemoths that held all the sweet treats. I'm reminded of a time when I didn't think about all the soda pop I consumed over the years, geez. Barring holidays, I try to stay away from candy, cake, and sugary pop these days, but it's not easy.

Considering the health journey I've been on for almost a year and a half, maybe the departed vending machines weren't such a bad idea.